


The rift

by alchemicalTyphoon



Category: The Arcana (Visual Novel)
Genre: Angst, Angst and Feels, Heavy Angst, Original Character Death(s), Other
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-01-17
Updated: 2020-01-17
Packaged: 2021-02-25 08:02:11
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,041
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22292695
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/alchemicalTyphoon/pseuds/alchemicalTyphoon
Summary: It was just a stupid argument. It shouldn't get between their love. It shouldn't end with him digging in black ashes, bleeding, and in tears.
Relationships: Apprentice/Asra (The Arcana)
Comments: 6
Kudos: 66





	The rift

**Author's Note:**

> Hiya! Here I am again with unnecessary angst I guess ¯\\_(ツ)_/¯!

He felt the change in the stones beneath his shoes, becoming broader as he entered their better off neighbourhood. From the corner of his eyes, the strips of red cloth hanging from various door handles fluttered in the breeze. The door to the shop seemed fine. In the dark, there was nothing remarkable about it. For a moment, he let himself believe nothing was wrong. This had just been a particularly stubborn argument they had, and he's now here and he'd make it up to them or they would make it up to him. It wouldn't really matter in the end, they'd forgive one another and life would return to its set ways. 

The breeze picked up, and he pulled the scarf closer to him, breathing in their fading scent. In his haste and anger he'd grabbed their scarf instead of his own, but it had been an excellent reminder their argument was stupid to begin with and he'd missed them so, so much. He couldn't wait to hold them again and tell them how wrong he'd been to leave their side. The two of them would be okay. He couldn't imagine they wouldn't be. His gaze returned to the door... and his stomach flipped when he spotted a flash of red in the cold moonlight. 

A flash of red, tied to the shop's door. To _their_ door. 

Ice clawed through his veins as he sprinted across the street, bursting through the door. He had felt none of the usual protective charms welcoming him home. His voice sounded frantic when he called out their name, and dread coiled around his heart when no answer came. He cast around, but couldn't sense their magic. He couldn't feel their presence. He felt nothing. 

The shop was completely devoid of life. 

Breathing hard, he summoned lights, illuminating the shop's interior. There was a good layer of dust, interrupted by a small trail leading to the stairs. Faust slithered around his neck, giving him a gentle squeeze. 

" _Friend?_ " He didn't recognise his own voice when he whispered. "I... I'm trying to find them. They must be here. They couldn't have gone..." 

Following the trail, he wound up in the living room and kitchen. His attention was pulled by the pristine white piece of paper, held in place by a large, amethyst crystal the shade of his eyes... and the necklace with the blue crystal protection charm they'd claimed from his stall, back when they barely knew each other. Seeing it here, wound around the crystal instead of nestled in the sun-kissed hollow between their collar bones... 

The worry flaring from his familiar at his sudden distress and frozen panic did little to calm him. He let himself sink into the closest chair he could pull from the table. With trembling hands, he grabbed the paper, unfolded it. He read its content, written in their fluid, hasty handwriting similar to their creator. The letter was brief. 

" _Asra,  
_

_You were right. You're always right. I should've listened.  
_

_I'll be leaving for the Lazaret. I can't risk spreading the Red Plague. Maybe I can still help test any possible cures the doctors have cooked up before-_

_Pleas forgive me for what I said. I didn't mean any of them._

_I give you everything I possessed in life.  
_

_I love you. I'm sorry."  
_

It was signed with their name...

_No. This isn't real! This isn't true!  
_

Energised by mad despair and disbelief, Asra abruptly shot out of the chair and left the store, not bothering to close the shop's door. With a hazy mind filled with denial, his feet managed to get him to the docks, where he stole the first dinghy he saw and let the water jettison him towards the island, towards Lazaret. The closer he got to the ominous island, the better he could feel the faint traces of their magic. 

He was almost catapulted out of the small dinghy when he hit the docks, and he all but flew across the wooden deck, across the sand, across the ashes of the dead. The pull of their magic got stronger the further down the black, ashy beach he ran. Until it suddenly got fainter again. Asra turned back, starting to move more inland... and his heart sank when it got fainter again. 

_No.  
_

He turned to the beach, his despair growing as the feel of their magic grew. His knees hit the ash, sinking into the loose sooth, like his hope did. He thrust one hand into the dark ashes... and felt their magic flare up once more. Horrified, he started to dig. 

And dig.

And dig. 

And dig some more. 

He kept digging, feeling their magic grow. 

He kept digging, even as his hands started to hurt. 

He kept digging, even as his hands came away bloody. 

When the sun started to rise, he touched something. The strongest flare of their magic. Tired, but with renewed energy, Asra wrested it out of the ground, and he brushed the dark ashes away with bleeding fingers, leaving red trails on the white bone. 

"No..." 

The rush of energy left him as hollow as the eye sockets of the skull... _their_ skull staring at him. Cold harsh reality set in when the first rays of the sun illuminated the beach of the Lazaret. His breathing became laboured, even as he tried to deny what he was holding in his bloodied hands, what he felt from it. He closed his eyes to stop the stare coming from the skull. His mind provided an image of their eyes, full of life, and smiling at him with mischief. Something hot and wet trickled down his cheeks, and his forehead touched cold bone. 

"I didn't mean it either. I'm sorry. I didn't mean what I said. I didn't mean it. I'm sorry. I take it back. I take it _all_ back.... Just... Don't let this be true.... Please come back... Please come back to me... _Please_....", he whispered desperately into the ether. 

Asra crumpled in on himself as the wails of grief escaped from deep within his soul, his hands gripping the skull. His wordless lament rang across the beach, until his voice gave out and he could only sob in silence. 

**Author's Note:**

> As always, feel free to yell with/at me ᕕ( ᐛ )ᕗ!


End file.
